Sean has a ‘spring’ in his step as he wins again

The early signs of Spring become more evident with each passing day and none is more obvious than the annual resurgence in Sean Scullion’s golf game.

He took the overall prize this week with a massive 38pts off 10 to claim his place among the winners for the third time in as many weeks.

Bogeys at the 1st, 6th and 14th were balanced by birdies at the 2nd, 11th and 17th for a very satisfying level par round.

It might not have been the best day to score three twos however, as the value of each will have been halved by Gary Clarke’s hole in one at the 11th, but Sean will not be in the least disappointed.

The low section went to the consistent Kevin McKavanagh with 32pts off 6. Kevin’s frequent visits to the podium are characterized either by moments of awe inspiring brilliance or ground out by relentless error free rounds. Saturday’s score fell very much into the latter category with a pair of birdies and four bogeys contributing to his winning total.

Having come third in the section last week Malachi McConville stepped up one place to second with 32pts off 6. His score was reduced by 1pt due to last week’s finish and he would have claimed the section had he not dropped a shot at the 17th.

Francis Tallon was the best of a trio of players on 30pts and he subsequently took third place. Olcan Kearney and Roy Hanna Jnr were the unlucky players who lost out.

Gary Clarke took yet another gross with 30 gross pts but he took it in rather more spectacular style than usual as it included a brilliant hole-in-one at the second. This more than made up for a disappointing opening bogey and he went on to go round in two under thanks to a birdie at the 8th and pars everywhere else.

Despite having his 33pts reduced by 3 due to his outright victory last week, Brendan Courtney still had enough in hand to claim the middle section. A double bogey at the 6th and birdie at the 11th represented the high and low of his round.

Possibly spurred on by the recent tales of his brother Malachi, Barrai McConville took second with 30pts off 10. Eight over after 11 holes suggested a mediocre finish was on the way but birdies at the 15th and 17th provided a late surge up the leaderboard. He will be hoping this performance sets the scene for a successful year ahead, a year which may even see him return to the cherished single figure handicap status which he enjoyed for a brief spell a couple of years ago.

Neal Carson came third with 30pts off 10. His double bogeys at the 1st and 6th provided a mountain too high to climb, although a birdie at the penultimate hole almost did the trick. Tony McCallion, Terry McCrory and Martin Corey will each no doubt recollect a few spurned opportunities to get the single point which would have claimed victory in the section.

The high section was also very closely contested with Kieran McCorry’s 32pts taking top spot from 2 other players on a similar score. Kieran finished the first half of the League very strongly and looks like repeating that. Double bogeys at the 6th and 10th threatened to derail his drive to the top, but a pair of closing nett birdies brought him to the top of the leaderboard.

Barry Mulholland has been playing very well with the odd bad hole denying him a winning score, but on Saturday he restricted his slips to a single double bogey and came within a whisker of coming out on top.

Stephen Hewitt had 30pts with three holes to go and looked like returning his best ever score, but an NR at the 15th was immediately followed by a triple bogey at the next and he was left clinging on to his winning chances.